Member Story:
“Infectious Disease While Away at College”

While my son was away at college, I got a call informing me that he had been taken to the local emergency room earlier. I felt equal parts helplessness and panic. No matter how old your kids are, your parenting instincts go into high gear when their health is at risk. My first reaction was to call PinnacleCare. Much to my relief, PinnacleCare’s Medical Director immediately contacted the attending physician at the ER where my son was located. After speaking with the ER physician, PinnacleCare confirmed that the ER would need to determine if my son had an infectious disease.

No matter how old your kids are, your parenting instincts go into high gear when their health is at risk. My first reaction was to call PinnacleCare.

I immediately boarded a plane to be with my son. At the same time, PinnacleCare was working to make sure that our son was getting the best possible care and coordinating with the ER to verify that the necessary tests were being given.

Around 12:30 a.m., the ER physicians confirmed that it was indeed an infectious disease case. Realizing that the local community ER was not equipped to handle this type of medical crisis, the PinnacleCare team convened with them over the phone and determined that my son should be air evacuated to a leading area hospital.

PinnacleCare arranged for the air evacuation service to be on the ground within three hours. After working on the case through the night, an advisor met us at the hospital the next morning to ensure the transition went smoothly. PinnacleCare found a top-ranked specialist and transferred my son’s medical records in record-breaking time. In fact, his medical records were delivered directly to the Infectious Disease specialist while he was on the phone waiting to get a debriefing from the original hospital.

My son has since been discharged from the hospital and should be able to return to college within the next three months. I am so glad we had PinnacleCare. Without them, our story may not have had such a happy ending.

The firm is now allowing its entire adviser force to refer clients to PinnacleCare, which also created a new elder-care assessment… Many advisers feel that dealing with elder-care issues isn’t their responsibility. But as clients age, “you’re going to be doing this whether you want to or not.”

In a time of serious illness, these advocates can help research new treatments that doctors may not know a lot about, cut through the medical bureaucracy, and perhaps help frame medical decisions more objectively than stressed out patients and their family members. Advocates are not just there to help you heal but also to keep you healthy.

— Anne Tergesen, “Your Guide to the Medical Maze”

Consider hiring a private patient advocate… It could help get you the care you need.

— Judy Foreman, “For when a doctor and a nurse just aren’t enough”

“Pinnacle provided me with a name and with research that said, ‘here’s how other people are going it, and here’s who has the most long-term survivors, and here are their stories.’ What I got from that was hope. Not a bad return on investment.”

— Gregory Taggart, “Deluxe Health Care”

“I always thought the medical staff would return phone calls, answer questions and discuss treatment plans and options. I was wrong.” So the family turned to…PinnacleCare for help. Within one day, a doctor on the company’s staff reviewed her mother’s medical records and set up a conference call with a neurosurgeon from Johns Hopkins and a neurologist from Rush University Medical Center, who agreed to take on the case. “We needed someone on our side.”